SO INTENSE. As a straight-sized person, I found this eye opening, and searingly painful as well. I mostly don't read books in verse, precisely because it is able to deliver this emotional punch, and deliver it did! But in a good way. I do wish there had been at least one side-plot going. Perhaps our characters could have other adventures that weren't always about the primary issue? I also found the ending a bit too neat for me. Still, I appreciated the salve for my newly acquired burns, even if it wasn't my ideal ending.

A heartwarming ghost story about grief and coming out that left me with the warm fuzzies. A MUST read.

I feel a bit mixed about this book being written by the parent of a trans kid, instead of by a trans person themselves. I would prefer an own voices take. That said, this is a good addition to the growing collection of children's books about trans kids. I especially like that this one does not rely on getting a haircut to validate gender.

Thoughts upon my umpteenth reread:

I still don't get the romance but it rings true in a way that understandable ones often don't. Eugenides continues to be one of my favorite characters of all time. He's just amazing. Capable, inscrutable, incorrigible, good, and still fallible. Perfection.

Great illustrations, and lovely story as well. I'm a little unsure of the audience, with this much text in a picture book format. There is simpler, larger text up top, and this is the text that I would read to the 4 & under crowd, but it is so spare as to be difficult to follow without the additional text supporting it. Still, a well researched book with good back-matter, and a lovely topic choice.

A good foundation kind of book, but a bit overly direct to the point of feeling a bit preachy. Still, sometimes that's needed in these discussions. I did like the portrayal of a teacher in a wheelchair, as not at all the central issue, just part of life.

Sacharine, preachy, and worst of all, boring. Plus it's needlessly full of "medieval" language that makes it difficult to follow.

strange and adorable, with lovely illustrations. I'm not such a fan of the Woody Allen quote, but only the adults will catch it and the rest of the book is very interesting.

I adore the way the magic works! The characters are solid and there's great development of the relationships as well. I don't love

Spoiler

that the sister just miraculously wakes up.

It feels out of keeping with the reality of the rest of the narrative, and a way to duck out of dealing with heavy emotional content.